Reply #3: NO - not good for low income since a credit against a tax you don't pay is

[papau]

worthless.

Now it could be made useful to the poor by making it refundable - you owe zero Fed tax, have sales tax credit of $300 - and the Fed sends you 4300 over and above refunding any income tax that may have been withheld from your pay..

But do not hold your breath waiting for the GOP to use this structure in any Tax Bill they write. Indeed they want to kill this structure as it exists in the current Earned Income Tax Credit for the poor. Hard enough to just defend EITC from the GOP - I doubt the Dems are up for a battle to make this idea refundable also - besides they can not win that battle at this time.